kirk minihane

The legend of Scott Pioli: Separating myth from reality

Scott Pioli has won the George Young NFL Executive of the Year Award twice (he's been named Exec of the Year three times by the Pro Football Writers of America). In 2009, ESPN put together its All-Decade Team. All the names you'd expect were represented -- Tom Brady, Tony Gonzalez, LaDainian Tomlinson, Ray Lewis, Champ Bailey ... Pioli was there as well, named by ESPN as Personnel Man of the Decade. He's been the subject of countless (OK, one and a half) books and returns to New England on Monday night as GM of a Chiefs team that won the AFC West in 2010, Season 2 of the Pioli Regime in Kansas City (he took over in 2009 after a 2-14 season).

I suppose I could have skipped the James Lipton introduction and just told you this: We aren't talking about Bobby Grier.

And when Patriots fans are forced to watch Philip Adams and Sergio Brown and Tracy White and Jermaine Cunningham and James Ihedigbo and Antwaun Molden flop around for a defense that is on pace to give up the most passing yards in history, on a team that hasn't won a playoff game since 2008, it's easy to understand why Pioli departing to Kansas City is sometimes viewed as the final blow to The Death of a Dynasty.

Perfect casting. But is it fair? Would the Patriots absolutely be a better football team today if Pioli was still in the organization?

Here's where we should consider the importance of timing. Pioli was unknown to us -- almost completely and totally unknown -- before 2001. We heard about him, read about him, but we didn't know him, didn't have a definition. Our introduction to Pioli really was as the co-architect of the first Super Bowl team, or as the guy who drafted (co-drafted?) Tom Brady. And three Super Bowls in four years goes a long way to define a guy.

Pioli got out before it got ugly (or as ugly as two straight division titles and a 14-2 season can be). He was around for 16-0 and he was around for 11-5 without Tom Brady and then he left. That's good timing -- exiting when your stock can't be higher.

And that's why Bill Belichick gets all the heat (plenty of which he deserves) and you never hear about Pioli's errors around here. Out of sight, free of criticism. But if the folks who think Belichick needs Pioli are going to point to all the draft and free agent hits, isn't it fair to at least recognize what happened at the end of the Pioli/Belichick regime?

Some of that was while Pioli had an office in Foxboro and some of it has happened since he's left. From 2001-04 it seemed that the Patriots almost never missed, almost always made the right decisions. Since then -- and again, this is a tough standard, we are talking about an annual playoff team -- it's been plenty of inconsistency.

And guess what both Belichick and Pioli have largely been -- in matters of personnel -- since their football divorce? Yup, inconsistent. The Patriots had a mediocre draft in 2009 (Pat Chung and Sebastian Vollmer have been the only significant contributors, Darius Butler and Ron Brace look like back-to-back whiffs with the 40th and 41st overall picks) and very good one in 2010 (the tight ends -- Gronkowski is THE top post-Pioli move by Belichick -- and Devin McCourty). Pioli's first draft as a solo artist? Total disaster, the most (only?) truly productive player has been a kicker: Ryan Succop. That's never good. His second draft, though, was terrific -- Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Javier Arenas, Dexter McCluster and Tony Moeaki.

Free agents? Again, hits and misses, just like everyone else. Bodden, Hayensworth and Ochocinco are all flops, no way around that. But Brian Waters (released by the Pioli and the Chiefs) has played at an All-Pro level, and Andre Carter is on pace for 15 sacks. The scrap-heap guys (Molden, Ihedigbo, etc.) haven't worked because A-Y) they aren't good football players and Z) their flaws aren't hidden (see Poteat, Hank) by a bench of talent around them. And that goes directly back to Belichick's (and Pioli's) inability to find game-changing defensive players post-2004. Pioli's free-agent track record has been unspectacular but solid enough, nothing risky with no great return.

If you put the two side-by-side over the last two-plus years (I'm not counting the 2011 draft classes) and call it a push I guess I could live with that. But if you're looking for a reason to give Belichick the edge I'll offer two: Pioli had the third pick in the 2009 NFL Draft and picked Tyson Jackson, a defensive end that has exactly one career NFL sack. He passed on B.J. Raji, Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews. If you are Pioli, you have to land a franchise player with the third pick. Jackson is more likely to be released than make a Pro Bowl over the next three years (the highest pick of the Pioli/Belichick years was also used on a defensive end -- Seymour with the sixth choice in 2001.)

And, listen, I enjoyed the Matt Cassel Era with the Patriots -- a perfectly pleasant guest host, if you will -- but a $63 million deal (nearly $30 million guaranteed)? Let's be fair -- he made a Pro Bowl last season with a 27-7 TD/INT ratio. Swell. But take that out of the mix and Cassel (out for the rest of 2011 with a broken hand) has an 8-16 record with 26 TDs and 25 INTs. Having guys like Hayensworth and Ochocinco fail to contribute (at all) is unfortunate. Having the third pick in the draft and a $63 million quarterback not come close to best-case scenario can be paralyzing.

Do I think the Patriots would be better off organizationally if Pioli had turned down the Chiefs and stayed? Sure. Count me in as one of those who buy into the idea that it's important to surround yourself with smart people who can disagree with you. And I'm not sure that Floyd Reese, Matt Patricia, Bill O'Brien and the Krafts -- smart fellas all, I'm sure -- are as comfortable saying "no" to Belichick as Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis and Pioli were. That stuff matters.

However Scott Pioli, Master of Personnel is a myth. Mixed results for nearly half a decade in New England and two years in Kansas City confirms that. An important part of the dynasty? Of course. A smart football man? You bet. Was his tenure with the Patriots a success? By any reasonable measure.

Three Super Bowls and four AFC titles are part of his legacy. But it's his failure over the last four years of his run in New England to secure talent on defense that will mean a lot more on Monday night and for the rest of the 2011 season.

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